A.N/ Hellooo wow it's been a while huh.. Haha ya I kinda forgot this fic existed but I just reread and hey it's not too bad! I also kind of lost interest in Karnevel but still wanted to try and write this fic anyways so I apologize if I make some mistakes from canon. Annnyyyyways, if there's anyone still reading this, cheers and I hope you enjoy!
Making sure to be as quiet as possible, Gareki started to make his way above deck without being noticed. This of course wasn't too hard for him since he'd been trained in the art of stealth and knew how to stay in the shadows. Even if a guest saw him, it wouldn't be that big of a deal since they probably wouldn't pay him any mind, but if his Master or one of his many guards spotted him.. well that would be another more painful story. Gareki internally shuddered just thinking about what could happen.
Gareki continued to follow the sound of the music from above until he reached the exit, and carefully pushed through the doors. He quickly hid behind one of the crates above deck as a guard patrolling the ship walked by and went unspotted. As he waited for the guard to pass, Gareki was able to appreciate the ocean breeze that felt refreshing against his skin as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Gareki had a habit of getting lost in peaceful moments like this since they were always so rare. But that moment was short lived as his stomach growled again and he was reminded of his initial goal: to get food.
Peeking his head out from behind the crate he noticed only two guards blocking the entrance to the event hall. They wouldn't be too hard for him to get by, he just had to create a diversion. Reaching down towards his boot, he pulled out a lighter and a cigarette. Placing the cigarette in his mouth, Gareki lit the end and took a puff before flicking it towards the end of the red carpet that lined the boat leading towards the event hall. Soon enough it sparked into a small fire. It took awhile for the fire to spread big enough, but within seconds the guards caught on to the growing smoke.
"Oh shit!" One of the guards exclaimed taping the other's shoulder as they left their post to quickly stomp the fire out. "We can't let the Master find out about this!" The other guard said to the first one as they both frantically tried putting the fire out. They looked like a couple of idiots jumping around and trying to narrowly dodge the flames. Gareki just had to roll his eyes at them. Since the guards were now preoccupied with that, he was able to just walk through the doors and into the hall like nothing had happened.
Though Gareki had lived on this ship for as long as he could remember, he never really got to get a good look at the upper deck since his Master would never allow it. It was a rare occasion when Gareki was able to admire the pristine and posh architecture of the room. The banquet was extravengent and probably looked immaculate to anyone else, and Gareki might agree were he in any other situation, but instead the sight of it all just made him feel sick.
There were already a handful of guests all dressed in over the top suits and gowns and following the theme of the banquet, being a masquerade, so most everyone adorned a mask. Gareki on the other hand stood out like a sore thumb, dressed in all black, and wearing tattered up old pants and boots. It's not like he could really do anything about it though since these were the only clothes he had. Sighing when he noticed a snobby couple gawking at him, Gareki tried to stick close to the shadows in an attempt to go unnoticed.
Since Gareki had no idea where the stupid kitchen was, he waited until he spotted a servant holding a tray of finger foods because he knew if he tailed him, he'd eventually lead him to the kitchen. Keeping a safe distance, Gareki clung to the shadows and moved like a ghost.
Soon enough the tray was empty and the servant bowed at a guest in apology before excusing himself to go refill it. Gareki watched as the servant passed through a side door located at the far right of the room and disappeared. 'That must be where the kitchen is,' Gareki thought with a smirk, excited at the idea of food though still unsure of how exactly he'd be able to obtain anything unseen. He'd figure that out later. Moving quietly, Gareki made his way over to the door before pulling it open. Once inside, he quietly closed the door and turned around. There was a little hallway before him that reached to the end of the hall where Gareki assumed the kitchens were located. He started towards the door before he felt a hand grab him on the wrist and he spun around quickly.
"What are you doing up here?" one of his Master's lackies glared at him and Gareki narrowed his eyes. Dammit, how come he hadn't sensed him? Before Gareki could reply however, he heard the obnoxiously loud laugh of his Master from a closed door a few feet from the kitchens and the guard stiffened up, an evil glint in his eye, before dragging Gareki towards the door. 'Fuck.' Gareki thought, seeing no way to escape as he was roughly pushed through the door.
The room was huge, entirely too big for the small amount of furniture in it, being that there were only a few plush chairs, pillows, and a table covered in food and drinks. There were pieces of elegant fabric and tapestries hanging down from the walls towards the ground, and at the top of the ceiling, there was a giant sky-light that gave view of the starry night sky above. Gareki's master was seated in one of the plush chairs located in the center of the room loosely holding onto a glass of wine and laughing amongst his two guests. All eyes turned to Gareki upon his entrance and his Master narrowed his eyes before forming the biggest smile on his lips. "Ah, well if it isn't my favorite secret weapon," He paused to lick his lips, "Gareki-kun." Gareki remained emotionless. "Now now, why such a sour look, hmm? Come here boy." His master teaseed before snapping his fingers for Gareki to come forward. Gareki internally groaned but obeyed nonetheless.
"Ahh is this the little weapon you were telling us about?" One of his Master's guests, who was dressed in an annoyingly flashy suit covered in leopard print and diamonds, spoke up holding a wine glass to his lips. Gareki glanced at him, a void look in his eyes, but said nothing. This dude was pissing him off with how entitled he looked just sitting over there like he owned the place.
"Yes in fact he is." His Master smirked before continuing, getting an idea, "Now you know how much I hate to brag, but you must let me show you what he's capable of." His Master purred and Gareki wanted to barf at all the lame theatrics but remained still. "Ah but before that, it seems my glass is empty. Boy, come fill it won't you." Gareki looked at him before nodding and slipped on his 'perfect pet mask', "Of course, Master." he replied before making his way over to the wine bottle located on the small table before them. 'What a pain.' Gareki thought as he leaned down to grab the bottle and noticed the guest from before still staring at him.
Making his way over to the chair to refill his Master's drink, he watched as the man shoved the glass in his face and Gareki slowly filled its contents with the red liquid.
"That's enough." His master ordered and Gareki stepped back a bit as he smirked.
"Ooo what a trained little doggy you have! I wonder what other tricks he can do.~" The leopard suited shithead who still hasn't taken his eyes off of Gareki spoke up as he stared directly at Gareki's ass.
Feeling uncomfortable Gareki clenched onto the wine bottle in his hands tighter, which didnt go unnoticed by his Master, and without a word, he stood up and slapped Gareki across the face. Having unexpected it, Gareki was taken aback and lost his balance a bit from the impact. His Master's guest, on the other hand, was clapping and bouncing up and down in his chair as if he were watching a circus.
Gareki looked up, radiating a strong killing intent in his eyes before his Master pulled him closer so he could whisper in his ear. "Do what I say and if you fight back I swear to God I'll kill you." Gareki froze at the words and his Master clapped his hands together once before speaking. "Guards!" He called to no one in particular, and soon enough, the door opened up and 20 of his Master's best men came streaming in to kneel in front of him. "All of you, attack the boy with all the strength that you have." His Master ordered and Gareki looked up at him to see him smiling and still sipping on his drink.
"Yes sir!" The guards chanted in unison before standing up to face Gareki.
"Well, what are you waiting for boy? Run!" His Master cheered and Gareki instantly took off towards one of the doors on the side that lead to the main deck. The hoard of guards yelled and chased after him through the door and into the night.
Meanwhile: Circus
Tonight Circus was given a mission to take out a slave ship currently involved with human trafficking. Their team would go undercover at a banquet dinner party that the Master of the business was holding and take him down along with all the other criminals on board. Second ship captain Hirato would oversee the mission from the sky ship floating above, out of sight and up in the clouds. As for those assigned with the mission on board, Yogi and Tsukumo would handle it as a team.
The sun had been set for quite a while now and it was under the cover of darkness when Yogi and Tsukumo dropped down on a rope from the sky ship towards their target below. The duo landed safely on the top of the ship on what appeared to be a pentagonal sky light.
"Are you ready Tsukumo?" Yogi asked with a smile as he straighten out his tuxedo and glanced over at his partner adorned in a fluffy pink gown with matching masquerade mask.
"Yes." She nodded and glanced down through the sky light at their feet. Yogi, curious as well, followed suit. Looking through the window and careful not to be seen, the two made note of the extravagant room where it seemed the Master of the operation was location. The man they were assigned to exterminate was seated in a chair in the center of the room and a boy, who looked like he could be Tsukumo's age, was pouring him a drink. Yogi watched the boy, noticing the look of his hatred in his eyes directed towards the man he was serving.
"Shall we start now?" Tsukumo spoke up but Yogi continued watching the boy.
"There's a kid in there." He spoke softly, eyes still glued to the mystery boy.
"So?" Tsukumo questioned, readying herself to attack, but Yogi held his hand up.
"We should wait until the boy leaves. We don't want to risk any civilians getting hurt." Yogi spoke but at that moment he watched as the boy got slapped hard across the face by the man who was once seated in the chair before him. Yogi turned his head, not wanting to watch.
"Che what an ass." Tsukumo mumbled having seen the display as well, and turned around towards the end of the roof to peer below at the lower deck. She surveyed the area making note of where guards were posted and where escape routes could lead. Yogi on the other hand turned back towards the sky light below and watched as handfuls of men came pouring into the room. He wondered what they were planning but soon enough he saw the Master point at the boy who looked up and started sprinting out of the room, the guards all following after him.
"It's time." Yogi stood up from the roof and Tsukumo nodded, already ready.
Gareki ran as fast as he could out onto the deck of the ship, narrowly avoiding stray guests and passerbyers as he ran for his life. His Master had told him that if he fought back then he'd kill him but it's not like his Master could see him right now anyways. "Fuck," Gareki swore as he reached the end of the ship, he was cornered. He spun around in a defense stance as he watched the hoard of guards approach him from both sides. His hand itched towards the gun that he kept at his waist. This was going to be a bloodbath.
Two brave guards charged at him first and Gareki was quick to read each of their attacks. The one on the right came at him with both of his hands in the air, carrying a long, thin blade, while the other one went from his legs. Gareki quickly jumped to the left and aimed a kick to the guard below him with his boot. He then unsheathed his gun from its protective holster and aimed the butt of it straight for the other guards head, knocking him out. This, of course, angered the other guards causing five more to come charging his way.
In the distance gunshots were heard and it started to rain.
Taking a deep breath Gareki prepared for the next attack but was thrown off when they all charged him at once. Gareki kicked off the edge of the boat for support as he jump over the group and kicked down the two closest to him. He had yet to use any bullets and he'd try to keep it that way for as long as possible. As he was handling the other three guards in front of him, two guards snuck up from behind him and one managed to jab a knife right into Gareki's side. "Augh fuck!" Gareki yelled in annoyance and quickly knocked down the three guards he was dealing with prior before spinning around to snap the neck of the guard who stabbed him. The other guard, who hadn't even attacked yet, stole one look at Gareki before running away in fear. A couple more guards who had yet to join the battle also started to run away.
It was raining harder now and Gareki glared at the remaining couple of guards. There were 5 to his left and 3 to his right. 8 in total. He could handle this.
One of the guards on the left yelled and started to charge at him and the other 7 followed after him. Gareki narrowed his eyes, studying their moves. Two of the guards had long spears, three had smaller knives, and three more had guns. Gareki made a mental note to avoid the ones with guns. When they got closer Gareki dropped to the ground and stuck his leg out underneath their feet to sweep them down and onto their backs. Next he smashed his foot into two of their stomachs before dodging a jab to his head from one of the guards. Using the butt of his gun once again, he aimed for the guards head and continued the pattern on another guard who tried to aim a shot at him. Gareki dodged and kicked another guard from behind, causing him to drop his knife and used another guard as a shield when one shot at him. Throwing him to the side Gareki charged at the guard before disarming him and knocking him to the ground. The rain was pounding down so hard now Gareki had to move his bangs out of his eyes in order to see his target below him. He knocked him out with his boot before turned around to hit another guard down with his gun. That was 7 down. Gareki panted as he scanned the ship for the last guard. Suddenly he caught sight of metal and before he knew it a bullet was coming towards him. Gareki quickly jumped to the right but his leg got nicked by the bullet and he rolled down onto the deck. 'Shit.' he thought but didn't have time to think about the new wound as the guard continued shooting at him. Gareki dodged the messy attacks before holding up his own gun and shooting the guard right in between his eyes. Dead.
Making sure all the other guards he'd knocked down where also dead, Gareki sighed. He was sopping wet and covered in blood and he hadn't even noticed the commotion that had taken place in the main banquet hall. He hadn't heard the screams of his Master as he was ripped to shreds, or the clambering of guests as they tried to get to safety. All Gareki could hear now was the rain and the new number flashing through his head. 580. 580 kills.
Gareki laughed dryly, "580, huh? Is that the number I'm at now.." Slowly making his way back towards the main area of the ship Gareki held a hand to his now pulsing head. His side hurt from where that guard had gotten lucky and stabbed him and his ankle was bleeding as well from where he was brazed, but Gareki would handle that later.
Looking up Gareki finally became aware of the state of the ship. People where running around like crazy, some were jumping over board onto liferafts, others were crying, and the banquet hall was covered in flames. "Wha-?" Gareki tried to speak but a hysterical person came running at him screaming about a Circus and knocked him in the side. Gareki landed on his knee as he tried to ground himself. What was happening? Was the ship under attack?
And that's when it hit him.
He could escape.
He could finally escape from this godforsaken ship. Gareki felt his lips quirk up into a smile, still kneeling on the ground. He was going to be free. Finally he could leave! He was about to stand up to think of an escape plan, when a hand reached out in front of him.
Gareki looked up suddenly thinking it could be his Master but his eyes landed on a young man with golden blonde hair and violet eyes smiling down at him.
"Need a hand?" The man asked kindly and Gareki just stared at him, unsure of what to do.
Gareki stared at him for a second and spoke before thinking it through. "H-help me." he whispered and the man with the golden hair just smiled brighter before pulling Gareki to his feet.
"Sure thing!" The man cheered before leading Gareki away towards the other end of the ship where a young girl with blonde hair in pigtails was waiting for him.
"You're bringing him with us?" The girl asked in a stoic voice and the man smiled before answering.
"Yep this is my new friend! He asked me to help him." The man answered as if it was the simplest thing and Gareki just watched the interaction, unsure of what to do.
"Hirato is going to have something to say about this you know that right?" the girl sighed.
"Aw don't worry Tsukumo it'll be fine! Come on, we should really get going now."
The man lead Gareki over towards the girl and grabbed onto both of them tightly.
"Hold on tight, okay?" The man spoke softly and Gareki simply nodded before the man leaped into the air.
Gareki's eyes widened as he looked down at the ship below them. 'What the fuck? Is this dude flying?!' He thought, amazed but kept his emotions hidden. They floated upwards in to the sky until they passed through a blue portal that led to a sky ship and Gareki closed his eyes at the bright light. When he opened them he noticed that they were inside the ship in a strange white room where a bunch of little sheep-like creatures holding spears were waiting for them.
"We're home!" The man cheered happily as he released Gareki and the girl whom he referred to as 'Tsukumo' earlier.
"Baaa welcome home.~" The sheep cheered back in unison.
"Good to be back." Tsukumo replied and Gareki rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things because last time he checked sheep didn't talk.
Gareki knelt down to poke one of the weird sheep things. "What the heck is this thing?" he asked to no one in particular and the sheep yelled at him for poking his face like that.
"These black sheep are the defense system we have here on Second Ship!" The man who's name Gareki still didn't know spoke up with a smile and Gareki wondered if this man was always so chipper.
"Weird.." Gareki mumbled before standing up.
"Come on Yogi we should go see Hirato to tell him about the success of the mission." the girl from before spoke up and started to walk down the long corridor before them.
"Ah okay okay," the man sighed before grabbed Gareki's hand, "let's go!" he called cheerfully and ran down the corridor.
"Hey-!" Gareki tried to protest but was still dragged along behind the strange man to go meet this Hirato person.
'That girl had called him 'Yogi'.' Gareki thought, 'What a strange name.'
When they finally arrived Gareki was led into an equally strange decorated room which held two red sofas facing one another and a man dressed in a suit and top hat was waiting for them. 'This must be these guys' Master,' Gareki thought as Yogi pulled him down to sit next to him on one of the couches.
"So, how did it go?" The man in the top hat stated, jumping right to the case.
The girl from before, Tsukumo, stood up. "We were able to exterminate the main target involved with human trafficking. The one who called himself Master Willex."
Gareki's eyes widen at the mention of his master's name and he stood up. "Wait, you killed him?!" Gareki blurted out and the man with the top hat watched him curiously.
"Yes, that was our mission." the girl replied mechanically and Gareki clenched his fist.
The man with the top hat spoke up, "What seems to be the problem here? I don't think I know who you are, young man."
Gareki was pissed off but when he looked over at the other man he quickly covered his emotions before kneeling like he was always trained to, "I'm sorry sir my name is Gareki and that man that you killed was my Master." he stated respectfully before looking up with heat in his eyes. "But the problem is, that I wanted to be the one to kill him."
Yogi watched the boy. 'Gareki, huh?' he thought before Hirato spoke up, a smile gracing his face.
"Hmm how interesting.. Well no need to be so formal me with me Gareki. Please, call me Hirato." There was a glare reflected in his glasses when he spoke which left Gareki unable to read his expression, so he simply nodded before going back to sit on the couch.
"Now back to the status of the mission," Hirato started glancing between Yogi and Tsukumo, "were you able to eliminate the other criminals on board as well?"
Yogi stood up to answer this time, "Ah well we tried to make a move on the one called Master Libra but he had too many reinforcements that we weren't prepared for so he got away." he finished sheepishly and Gareki frowned.
'Master Libra?' Gareki thought, racking his brain trying to put a face to the name though came up short. That name didn't sound very familiar.
"Well it can't be helped," Hirato hummed, "at least you took out the main target, that's all we were really asking of you anyways so good work."
Suddenly there was a rumbling noise that sounded like an approaching thunderstorm and Yogi looked around curious. "Woah did you guys hear that?! What was that noise?" He shouted to no one in particular and Gareki covered his face in embarrassment before lightly punching Yogi in the side.
"Hey shut up will ya' it was just my stomach..Geez!" Gareki looked away feeling his face heat up awkwardly and Yogi broke out in the silliest smile.
"Aww cute Gareki-kun!~" He cooed which made Gareki turn around angrily.
"Don't call me that!" He argued before Yogi stood up.
"Aw come on, let's go get some food. I'm hungry after that mission anyways!"
When Gareki didn't move Yogi sighed and grabbed his arm to drag him along to the cafeteria with him. Hirato smiled behind his gloved hand and stood up to join them along with Tsukumo. He was very interested in this boy that Yogi had brought back and made a mental note to find out more information about him later.
When they got to the cafeteria Gareki was once again in awe of such a huge place. Unlike his previous Master's dining hall, this one was triple the size and could seat hundreds more people. There were buffet tables lining the room as well as personal chefs where one could order their own hot meals if they preferred. Gareki tried not to left his exasperation show but sometimes he couldn't help being astounded by such high-class.
Gareki could feel his mouth water just looking at all of the options they had here and he was honestly overwhelmed by the extravagance of it all. Yogi seemed to pick up on this and happily ordered as much food as possible for him. Yogi didn't really know why but he liked Gareki and he wanted him to eat as much as his heart desired!
The two sat down at a table with their seemingly endless plates of food spread out before them and Hirato and Tsukumo sat across from them. Gareki stared down at all the dishes laid out on the table. There were pastas, pizzas, meats, soups, salads, fish, tacos, casseroles, pies, cakes, pastries, beverages, the list was endless. There were so many different food items that Gareki had never even seen before let alone heard of that he had no idea where to even start. But then something in the back of Gareki's mind told him that he shouldn't eat any of this food. In the back of his mind a voice told him that if he took a bite of this food then he's turn into a Varuga and die. Another voice told him the food was all poisoned and these people were just tricking him into eating it. A third voice told him he should just starve because a piece of shit like him didn't deserve good quality food like this.
Gareki hesitated as he stared down as his fork unsure if the voices in his head were right or not. Seeming to catch on to his inner turmoil, Hirato eased his worries. "Don't worry, we didn't poison anything. Here," He started and ate something right off of Gareki's plate to prove that it was clean. Gareki watched with wide eyes before nodding. "Sorry.. force of habit." He said before taking a bite of what looked like a pancake. 'Holy shit..' Gareki thought, 'this is amazing.' he licked his lips before quickly shoving more mysteriously delicious food into his mouth.
Yogi watched him eat in amazement almost like the boy had never even seen food before in his life.
Hirato cleared his throat before speaking, "So Gareki, you said that man was your Master, correct?" He asked from across the table sipping on a cup of tea.
Gareki paused for a second before eating a bit slower to respond, "Yes, sir."
"Pardon me if I'm digging, but I am quite interested about you, Gareki." Hirato spoke like velvet, spinning a sugar cube with a spoon into his tea.
"I understand." Gareki stopped eating completely now and Yogi looked over. "Well, for as long as I can remember I have lived on that ship to serve as a weapon for my Master."
"A weapon?" Yogi questioned, about to reach across the table for a cupcake but stopped when he caught the seriously far off look in Gareki's eyes.
"Yes. I was very familiar with what my Master did, I'm not an idiot. I knew every time we'd port somewhere that he'd come back with crates full of children who would all die in a matter of days. I knew this. Every time they would-" Gareki paused shaking his head and chose his words more carefully, "basically I lived and they didn't which made my Master suspicious."
Gareki felt his face get sweaty for some reason and quickly wiped it away before continuing, "Because of this suspicion, he started to 'train' me- che if that's what you want to call it- into his perfect weapon. Even though he took such an interest in me, he didn't ever praise me unless it was for killing someone." 'God why is it so hot in here all of a sudden geez.' Gareki's hand twitched towards his boot but he continued anyways.
"He trained me to use me, but only in secret. He hated showing me off which, whatever I guess.." Gareki's eyes grew sharper when he continued, "I just wish after all those years that I could've been the one to rip his head from his piece of shit body." Gareki finished angrily before quickly pushing his intense emotions away and when Yogi looked at him with wide eyes and he shoved a cupcake in his mouth.
Hirato on the other hand was smirking behind his tea cup. 'A human weapon, hmm?'
"Aw well it's okay now Gareki! You'll be safe here at Circus!" Yogi smiled trying to lighten the mood and went to hug Gareki who shoved him away with his boot.
"Geez.." Gareki mumbled. Safe, huh? He sure as hell didn't feel safe. On the way here he'd memorized any door that he could potentially escape to should something go awry, as well as how many of those weird sheep guards were posted around the parts of the ship that he had seen. Plus he still didn't even know what Circus was yet.
Yogi, who was rubbing at his nose where Gareki had kicked him earlier, was trying to give Gareki another hug to which he was going to refuse until he suddenly felt pain shoot through his side. He had been so caught up in this new environment, and the food, and Circus, that he'd completely forgotten about the wounds he'd received hours before when he was on the ship. 'Shit.' he thought, sourly biting his lip to hide his discomfort, and he stopped what he was doing to quickly press his arm over the wound on his side.
Yogi, having noticed Gareki's behavior, looked at him curiously to see him grabbing his side.
"Gareki-kun?" Yogi asked in confusion, his overly happy disposition now gone, before his eyes widened and he stood up alerting everyone at the table to what was happening. "Ahh Gareki are you bleeding?!" He shouted and Gareki looked up, still holding his side.
Hirato spoke up next, "You're bleeding? Why didn't you say anything?" He asked from across the table about to stand up but Gareki rose his other hand to stop him.
"Oh.. yeah, but it's fine. I just forgot that I got stabbed is all." He answered rather matter-of-factly and Yogi looked at him like he was crazy. "What?! You forgot?! H-how do you forget something like that!"
"Agh stop yelling you freak seriously it's not that bad." Gareki protested as he moved his hand from the wound to see it completely covered in his blood. He felt dizzy all of a sudden and he was sweating when he looked down at his hand.
"You don't look too hot, kid." Tsukumo spoke up standing up as well. Gareki had forgotten she was here this whole time.
Trying to act like he was fine, Gareki went to stand up but started to feel super dizzy, and before he knew it, he was falling into blackness.